Skip to main content

Full text of "The Youth's realm"

See other formats 


VOL. XI. AUGUST, 1905 NO- U6. 



I. 


i' b- ' 




V 



■ 




r v. ■ 









NICHOLAS II., CZAR OF RUSSIA. 


WHY, THE NEGRO IS BLACK. 


Ai?*ny inrg-edll Says It Is to Pirdtect 
Him From frO|i">al Snhi 

Surgeon Major Charh •? Woodruff, U. 
S. A., ffow stationed in he Philippines, 
in a treatise just piiblis ied in England 
Oh the effects of the t Apical light on 
the white man incidentally answers the 
Interesting question, “Why is the negro 
black V* His answer is that the ne¬ 
gro’s blackness is a defense against the 
dangerous rays of the sun, and he thus 
reasons: 

“Sun rays are divided into two classes 
—long and short. The latter are dan¬ 
gerous to all persons who are not de¬ 
fended from them; the former make 
for heat. To avoid these dangers the 
pure negro has evolved a black skin. 

“The defensive skin is an armor of 
pigment just under the outer skin. It 
varies in intensity of color from the 
coal black negro of the tropics to the 
white man of northern latitudes. 

“The pigment is always there—just 
sufficient in strength to resist the dan¬ 
ger in different climates. This accounts 
for the varying,colors of different ra^es 


—black, red, yellow, copper and white. 
It is only absent in albinos, 

“The negro’s natural armor is only 
protective against artificial heat. In a 
dark atmosphere the black skin ceases 
to throw off heat, and the negro suf¬ 
fers, In a stokehole, for instance, he 
is usually the first man to collapse, 
Where white men are unaffected.” 


ftpeWorm a Foife of Cottstimption. 

“The tapeworm is the natural enemy 
of the germ of consumption, and the 
latter cannot exist when the former is 
present,” says Consul Canada of Yera 
Cruz, Mexico, in a report to the state 
department. The consul states that 
two eminent scientists have discovered 
that the tapeworm prevents the organ¬ 
ism from being infected with tubercu¬ 
losis bacilli, and this was proved in the 
case of a consumptive who had a tape¬ 
worm and completely recovered his 
health. To positively establish the 
efficacy of this remedy the doctors in¬ 
jected a liquid prepared from the tae¬ 
nia into several consumptives, which 
resulted in a complete cure. 


scribed to the French Academy of Sci¬ 
ence the case of a man afflicted with 
an unusual illness called osteomalachy, 
which In three years caused his stature 
to diminish from four feet six inches to 
less than three feet. According to the 
physician, all the bones in the patient’s 
body became softened and bent like 
rubber, and this condition lasted for 
more than three years, after which pe¬ 
riod the patient got well again without 
any apparent reason or cure and is now 
in good health, minus eighteen inches 
of his stature. 


The Plano and the Nerves. 

A Berlin physician says that out of 
1,000 girls who played the piano be¬ 
fore the age of twelve years he found 
600 cases of nervous diseases, whereas 
out of the same number who did not 
play the instrument he found but 100 
cases. The author of these experi¬ 
ments states that the piano should nev¬ 
er be used by a child before the age' 
of sixteen years and only two hours a 
day at the maximum.-. 

Tliey Can Swallow Others Twice 
Their Own §la'6a 

That one animal can devour another 
twice its own size at a single swallow 
is a statement that may seem to the 
uninformed to be as incredible as any 
fish story ever invented. Nevertheless 
it is true of certain fishes. So far as 
known such fishes are inhabitants of 
the deep seas, where utter darkness 
perpetually prevails, with an unvary¬ 
ing temperature almost as cold as ice 
and a pressure ranging, according to 
depth, from a quarter td three or four 
tons upon every square inch of their 
body surface. 

According to Gunther, three speci¬ 
mens of the saccopharynx, a deep sea 


mouth. The teeth of these rapacious 
fishes of the deep sea usually point 
backward. Gunther explains that the 
fish after having seized its victim with 
its capacious and very movable jaws 
partly presses it down as a snake 
would do and partly draws itself over 
it. The prey is received into an esoph¬ 
agus and stomach, the membranes of 
which are extensible as an India rub¬ 
ber pouch. The empty stomach is con¬ 
tracted and folded up and projects but 
little below the abdomen.—Dr. Sander¬ 
son Christison in Scientific Americans 


Sick Mara Loses Eighteen Inches. 

jProfessor Lannelqngue .recently. d,e,- 


THE CHIA8MODUS NIGEB. 

eel several feet long, were found float¬ 
ing with fishes in their stomachs which 
many times exceeded the length of 
their destroyers. The Plagyodus ferox 
is about six feet long and very fero¬ 
cious. From the stomach of one were 

taken several octopods, crustaceans, a 
young brama, twelve young boar fishes, 
a horse mackerel and one young of its 
own species. One peculiarity is that 
it has ribs symmetrically arranged the 
whole length of its abdomen. 

The specimen of the Chiasmodus ni- 
ger, or “great swallower,’’ here illus¬ 
trated is six and five-eighths inches 
long, but contains a fish in its stomach 
which is ten and a half inches long. 
The stomach of the devourer is stretch¬ 
ed as thin as gold beater’s skin. It has 
hooked teeth and teeth which cross 
each other from opposite, sides, of the 


Paying Bets. 

Should you happen to be in the vicin¬ 
ity ot e Penn Charter school and see 
one boy kicking another violently and 
yet dispassionately don’t attempt to 
interfere, for the peacemaker will not 
be tolerated. The pastime is confined 

:;post entirely to the smaller boys- of 
v hoo 1 and demonstrates that the 
' er& the r S instinct is innate. The little 
■now. S( not being liberally supplied 
. ^iv#5pqQdi^ money, as a frde, S^iH 
make bets with each o ' r on the out¬ 
come of various events, particularly 
those of an athletic nature. “I'll bet 
you five kicks” is one of the favorite 
wagers, and the loser takes his punish¬ 
ment like a stoic. So if you should see 
one boy being kicked by another rest 
assured that he is merely paying a debt 
of honor.—Philadelphia Record. 

Naval Warfare. 

It is believed that -submarine boats 
were used in the great naval battle in 
which Admiral Togo annihilated the 
Russian Pacific fleet and that they 
were responsible for the destruction of 
iome of the Russian war vessels. If 
this be the case it was the first occa¬ 
sion of the use of the submarine boat 
in actual warfare or in an important 
battle. 

It is known that four submarine 
boats were built for the Japanese last 


■SUBMABINi attacking a batteesexp. 

summer at Quincy, Mass. They were 
of the Fulton type, were built in sec¬ 
tions and shipped by special train to 
Seattle, Wash., whence they were sent 
to Japan. Several other submarines 
which were designed and built by Mr. 
John P. Holland in Jersey City also 

went to A a P aG > and the iGventor be ' 
lieves tl w took part In the battle. 



S 










6£i irk 








































































































































































gieam of amusement in his deep set 
eyes. 

“Now, Watson, confess yourself ut¬ 
terly taken aback,” said he. 

“I am.” 

“I ought to make you sign a paper to 
that effect.” 

“Why?” 

“Because in five minutes you will 
say that it is all so absurdly simple.” 

“I am sure that I shall say nothing 
of the kind.” 

“You see, my dear Watson”—he prop¬ 
ped his test tube in the rack and began 
to lecture with the air of a professor 
addressing his., class—“it is not really 
difficult to construct a series of infer¬ 
ences, each dependent upon its prede¬ 
cessor and each simple in itself. If, 
after doing so, one simply knocks out 
all the central inferences and presents 
one’s audience with the starting point 
and the conclusion, one may produce 
a startling though possibly a meretri¬ 
cious effect. Now, it was not really 
difficult by an inspection of the groove 
between your left forefinger and 
thumb to feel sure that you did not 
propose to invest your small capital in 
the gold fields.” 

“I see no connection.” 

“Very likely not, but I can quickly 
show you a close connection. Here are 
the missing. links of the very simple 


Copyright by Collier’s Weekly. 

“Well, Mr. Holmes , what do you make 
of these ? ” 

play billiards to steady the cue; third, 
you never play billiards except with 
Thurston; fourth, you told me four 
Weeks ago that Thurston had an op¬ 
tion on some South African property 
which would expire in a month and 
which he desired you to share with 
him; fifth, your check book is locked in 
my drawer, and you have not asked 
for the key; sixth, you do not propose 
to invest your money in this man¬ 
ner.” 

“How absurdly simple!” I cried. 

“Quite so,” said he, a little nettled. 
“Every problem becomes very childish 
when once it is explained to you. Herd 
is an unexplained one. See what you 
can make of that, friend Watson.” He 
tossed a sheet of paper upon the table 
and turned once more to his chemical 
analysis. 

I looked with amazement at the ab¬ 
surd hieroglyphics upon the paper. 

“Why, Holmes, it is a child’s draw¬ 
ing!” I cried. 

“Oh, that’s your idea!” 

“What else should it be?” 

“That is what Mr. Hilton Cubitt of 
Riding Thorpe Manor, Norfolk, is very 
anxious to know. This little conun¬ 
drum came by the first post, and he 
was to follow by the next train. 
There’s a ring at the bell, Watson. I 
should not be very much surprised if 
this were he.” 

A heavy step was heard upon the 
stairs, and an instant later there en¬ 
tered a tall, ruddy, clean shaven gen¬ 
tleman whose clear eyes and florid 
cheeks told of a life led far from the 
fogs of Baker street. He .seemed to 
bring a whiff of his strong, fresh, brac¬ 
ing east coast air with him as he en¬ 
tered. Having shaken hands with each 
of us, he was about to sit down when 
his eye rested upon the paper with the 
curious markings which I had just ex¬ 
amined and left upon the table. 

“Well, Mr. Holmes, what do you 
make of these?” he cried. “They told 
me that you were fond of queer mys¬ 
teries, and I don’t think you can find 
a queerer one than that. I sent the 
paper on ahead, so that you might have 
time to study it before I came.” 

“It is certainly rather a curious pro¬ 
duction,” said Holmes. “At first sight 
it would appear to be some childish 
prank. It consists of a number of ab¬ 
surd little figures dancing across the 
paper upon which they are drawn. Why 
should you attribute any importance to 
so grotesque an object?” 

“I never should, Mr. Holmes, but my 
wife does. It is frightening her to 
death. She says nothing, but I can see 
terror in her eyes. That’s why I want 
to sift the matter to the bottom.” 

Holmes held up the paper so that the 


The Adventure of 
the Dancing Men 


No. 3 of the Series 


(Copyright, 1903, by A. Conan "Doyle and Collier's 
Weekly.) 

(Copyright, 1905, by McClure , Phillips & CoJ 

OLMES had been seated 
for some hours in silence, 
with his long, thin back 
curved over a chemical 
vessel in which he was 
brewing a practicularly 
malodorous product. His 
head was sunk upon his breast, and he 
looked from my point of view like a 
strange, lank bird with dull gray plum¬ 
age and a black topknot. 

“So, Watson,” said he suddenly, “you 
do not propose to invest in South Af¬ 
rican securities?” 

I gave a start of astonishment. Ac¬ 
customed as I was to Holmes’ curious 
faculties, this sudden intrusion into my 
most intimate thoughts was utterly in¬ 
explicable. 

“How on earth do you know that?” I 
asked. 

He wheeled round upon his stool with 
a steaming test tube in his hand and a 


chain: First, you had chalk between 
your left finger and thumb when you 
returned from the club last night; sec¬ 
ond, you put chalk there when you 


| Sf*£ "Return of 

\ SHERLOCK 
(HOLMES 

By A. CONAN DOYLE, 


I 

I 


Author of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes , 5 
“The Hound of the Baskervilles,” “The Sigh 
of the Four,” “A Study in Scarlet,” Etc, 


ILLUSTRATED 

BY F. D. STEELE 


Copyright by Collier’s Weekly. 

*T GUESS THE VERY BEST CASE I CAN MAKE FOR MYSELF IS 

THE ABSOLUTE NAKED TRUTH.” 


Sunlight shone full upon it. It was a 
fiage torn from a notebook. The mark¬ 
ings were done in pencil and ran in 
this way: 






Holmes examined it for some time, 
and then, folding it carefully up, he 
placed it in his pocketbook. 

*‘This promises td be a most interest¬ 
ing and imusual case,” said he. “You 
gave me a few particulars in your let¬ 
ter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I should 
be very much obliged if you would 
kindly go over it all again for the ben¬ 
efit of my friend, Dr. Watson.” 

“I’m not much of a story teller,” said 
bur visitor, nervously clasping and un¬ 
clasping his great, strong hands. “You 
will just ask me anything that I don’t 
make clear. I'll begin at the time of 
my marriage last yeiar, but I want to 
gay first of all that, though I’m not a 
rich man, my people have been at Rid¬ 
ing Thorpe for a matter of five centu¬ 
ries, and there is no better known fam¬ 
ily in the county of Norfolk. Last year 
I came up to London for the jubilee, 
and I stopped at a boarding house in 
Russell square, because Parker, the 
vicar of our parish, was staying in it. 

“There was an American young lady 
tl 3 €re _Patrick was the name—Elsie 
Patrick. In some way we became 
friends, until before my month was up 
I was as much in love as man could 
be. We were quietly married at a reg¬ 
istry office, and we returned to Nor¬ 
folk a wedded couple. You’ll think it 
very mad, Mr. Holmes, that a man of 
1 good old family should marry a wife 
in this fashion, knowing nothing of her 
past or of her people, but if you saw 
her and knew her it would help you to 
understand. 

“She was very straight about it, was 
Elsie. I can’t say that she did not give 
me every chance of getting out of it if 
I wished to do so. ‘I have had some 
very disagreeable associations in my 
life,’ said she, ‘I wish to forget all 
about them. I would rather never al¬ 
lude to the past, for it is very painful 
to me. If you take me, Hilton, you will 
take a woman who has nothing that 
6he need be personally ashamed of, but 
you will have to be content with my 
word for it and to allow me to be silent 
fis to all that passed up to the time 
when I became yours. If these condi¬ 
tions are too hard, then go back to Nor¬ 
folk and leave me to the lonely life In 
Which you found me.’ It was only the 
day before our wedding^ that she said 
those very words to me. *1 told her that 
I was content to take her on her own 
terms, and I have been as good as my 
word. 

“Well, we have been married now for 
a year, and very happy we have been. 
But about a month ago, at the end of 
June, I saw for the first time signs of 
trouble. One day my wife received a 
letter from America. I saw the Amer¬ 
ican stamp. She turned deadly white, 
read the letter and threw it into the 
fire. She made no allusion to it after¬ 
ward, and I made none, for a promise 
is a promise, but she has never known 
an easy hour from that moment. There 
is always a look of fear upon her face 
<-a look as if she were waiting and ex¬ 
pecting. She would do better to trust 
me. She would find that I was her best 
friend. But until she speaks I can say 
nothing. Mind you, she is a truthful 
woman, Mr. Holmes, and whatever 
trouble there may have been in her 
past life it has been no fault of hers. 
I am only a simple Norfolk squire, but 
there is not a man in England who 
ranks his family honor more highly 
than I do. She knows it well, and she 
knew it well before she married me. 
She would never bring any stain upon 


i 





























































































It; of fuat I am sure. 

“Well, now I come to the queer part 
of my story. About a week ago—it 
was the Tuesday of last week—I found 
on one of the window sills a number of 
absurd little dancing figures like these 
upon the paper. They were scrawled 
with chalk. I thought that it was the 
stable boy who had drawn them, but 
the lad swore he knew nothing about 

it. Anyhow, they had come there dur¬ 
ing the night, I had them washed out, 
and I only mentioned the matter to my 
wife afterward. To my surprise she 
took it very seriously and begged me if 
any more came to let her see them. 
None did come for a week, and then 
yesterday morning I found this paper 
lying on the sundial in the garden. I 
showed it to Elsie, and down she drop¬ 
ped in a dead faint. Since then she ha3 
looked like a woman in a dream, half 
dazed and with terror always lurking 
in her eyes. It was then that I wrote 
and sent the paper to you, Mr. Holmes. 
It was not a thing that I could take to 
the police, for they would have laughed 
at me, but you will tell me what to do. 
I am not a rich man, but if there is any 
danger threatening m-y little woman I 
would, spend my last copper to shield 
her." 

He was a fine creature, this man of 
the old English soil—simple, straight 
and gentle, with his great, earnest blue 
eyes and broad, comely face. His love 
for his wife and his trust in her shone 
in his features. Holmes had listened 
to his story with the utmost attention, 
and now he sat for some time in silent 
thought. 

“Don’t you think, Mr. Cubitt,” said 
he at last, “that your best plan would 
be to make a direct appeal to your 
wife and to ask her to share her secret 
with you?” 

Hilton Cubitt shook his massive head. 

“A promise is a promise, Mr. Holmes. 
If Elsie wished to tell me she would. 
If not, it is not for me to force her con¬ 
fidence. But I am justified in taking 
my own line—and I will.” 

“Then I will help you with all my 
heart. In the first place,-■ have you 
heard of any strangers being seen in 
your neighborhood?” 

“No.” 

“I presume that it is a very quiet 
place. Any fresh face would cause 
comment?” 

“In the immediate neighborhood, yes. 
But we have several small watering 
places not very far away. And the 
farmers take in lodgers.” 

“These hieroglyphics have evidently 
a meaning. If it is a purely arbitrary 
one it may be impossible for us to 
solve it. If, on the other hand, it is 
systematic, I have no doubt that we 
shall get to the bottom of it. But this 
particular sample is so short that I 
can do nothing, and the facts which 
you have brought me are so indefinite 
that we have no basis for an investi¬ 
gation. I -would suggest that you re¬ 
turn to Norfolk, that you keep a keen 
lookout and that you take an exact 
copy of any fresh dancing men which 
may appear. It is a thousand pities 
that we have not a reproduction of 
those which were done in chalk upon 
the window sill. Make a discreet in¬ 
quiry also as to any strangers in the 
neighborhood. When you have collect¬ 
ed some fresh evidence come to me 
again. That is the best advice which I 
can give you, Mr. Hilton Cubitt. If 
there are any pressing fresh develop¬ 
ments I shall be always ready to run 
down and see you in your Norfolk 
home.” 

The interview left Sherlock Holmes 
yery thoughtful, and several times in 
the next few days I saw him take his 
slip of paper from his notebook and 
look long and earnestly at the curious 
figures inscribed upon it. He made no 
allusion to the affair, however, until 
one afternoon a fortnight or go later 


I was going out -when he called me 
back. 

“You had better stay here, Watson.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I had a wire from Hilton 
Cubitt this morning. You remember 
Hilton Cubitt of the dancing men? He 
was to reach Liverpool street at 1 : 20 . 
He may be here at any moment. I 
gather from hi 3 wire that there have 
been some new incidents of impor¬ 
tance.” 

We had not long, to wait, for our Nor¬ 
folk squire came straight from the sta¬ 
tion as fast as a hansom could bring 
him. ETe was looking worried and de¬ 
pressed, with tired eyes and a lined 
forehead. 

“It’s getting on my nerves, this busi¬ 
ness, Mr. Holmes,” said he as lie sank, 
like a wearied man, into an armchair. 
“It’s bad enough to feel that you are 
surrounded by unseen, unknown folk, 
who have some kind of design upon 
you, but when, in addition to that, you 
know that it is just killing your wife 
by inches, then it becomes as much as 
flesh and blood can endure. She’s 
wearing away under it—just wearing 
away before my eyes.” 

“Has she said anything yet?” 

“No, Mr. Holmes, she has not. And 
yet there have been times when the 
poor girl has wanted to speak and yet 
could not quite bring herself to take 
the plunge. I have tried to help her, but 
I dare say I did it clumsily and scared 
her from it. She has spoken about my 
old family and our reputation in the 
comity and our pride in our unsullied 
honor, and I always felt it was lead¬ 
ing to the point, but somehow it turned 
off before we got there.” 

“But you have found out something 
for yourself?” 

“A good deal, Mr. Holmes. I have 
several fresh dancing men pictures for 
you to examine, and, what is more im¬ 
portant, I have seen the fellow.” 

“What—the man who draws them?” 

“Yes; I saw him at work. But I will 
tell you everything in order. When I 
got back after my visit to you the very 
first thing I saw next morning was a 
fresh crop of dancing men. They had 
been drawn in chalk upon the black 
wooden door of the tool house, which 
stands beside the lawn in full view of 
the front windows. I took an exact 
copy, and here it is.” He unfolded a 
paper and laid it upon the table. Here 
is a copy of the hierog’yphics: 

vromx* 

“Excellent!” said Holmes. “Excel¬ 
lent! Pray continue.” 

“When I had taken the copy I rubbed 
out the marks, but two mornings later 

a fresh inscription had appeared. I 
have a copy of it here:” 

MXXlZWX 

Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled 
with delight, 

“Our material is rapidly accumulat¬ 
ing,” said he. 

“Three days later a message was left 
scrawled upon paper and placed under 
a pebble upon the sundial. Here it is. 
The characters are, as you see, exactly 
the same as the last one. After that; I 
determined to lie in wait, so I got out 
my revolver, and I sat up in my study, 
which overlooks the lawn and garden. 
About 2 in the morning I was seated 
by the window, all being dark save for 
the moonlight outside, when I heard 
steps behind me, and there was my 
wife in her dressing gown. She im¬ 
plored me to come to bed. I told her 
frankly that I wished to see who it 
was who played such" absurd tricks 
upon us. She answered that it was 
some senseless practical joke and that 
I should not take any notice of it. 

“ ‘If it really annoyf you, Hilton, we 
might go and travel, you and I, and 
so avoid this nuisance.’ 


“ ‘What, be driven out of our own 
house by a practical joker?’ said I. 
‘Whv, we should have the whole coun¬ 
ty laughing at us.’ 

“ ‘Well, come to bed,’ said she, ‘and 
we can discuss it in the morning.’ 

“Suddenly, as she spoke, I saw her 
white face grow whiter yet in the 
moonlight, and her hand tightened up¬ 
on my shoulder. Something was mov¬ 
ing in the shadow of the toolhouse. I 
saw a dark, creeping figure 'which 
crawled round the corner and squatted 
in front of the door. Seizing my pistol, 
I was rushing out when my wife threw 
her arms round me and held me with 
convulsive strength. I tried to throw 
her off, but she clung to me most des¬ 
perately. At last I got clear, but by 
the time I had opened the door and 
reached the house the creature was 
gone. He had left a trace of his pres¬ 
ence, however, for there on the door 
was the very same arrangement of 
dancing men which had already twice 
appeared and which I have copied on 
that paper. There was no other sign 
of the fellow anywhere, though I ran 
all over the grounds. And yet the 
amazing thing is that he must have 
been there all the time, for when I ex¬ 
amined the door again in the morning 
he had scrawled some more of his pic¬ 
tures under the line which I had al¬ 
ready seen.” 

“Have you that fresh drawing?” 

“Yes, it is very short, but I made a 
copy of it, and here it is.” 

Again he produced a paper. The 
new,dance was in this form: 

£ H XT* 

“Tell me,” said Holmes—and I could 
see by his eyes that he was much ex¬ 
cited—“was this a mere addition to the 
first, or did it appear to be entirely 
separate?” 

“It was on a different panel of the 
door.” 

“Excellent! This is far the most im¬ 
portant of all for our purpose. It fills 
me with hopes. Now, Mr. Hilton Cu¬ 
bitt, please continue your most interest¬ 
ing statement.” 

“I have nothing more to say, Mr. 
Holmes, except that I was angry with 
my wife that night for having held me 
back when I might’ have caught the 
skulking rascal. She said that she 
feared that I might come to harm. For 
an instant it had crossed my mind that 
perhaps what she really feared was 
that he might come to harm, for I could 
not doubt that she knew who this man 
was and what he meant by these 
strange signals. But there is a tone in 
my wife's voice, Mr. Holmes, and a 
look in her eyes which forbid doubt, 
and I am sure that it was indeed my 
own safety that was in her mind. 
There’s the whole case, and now I 
want your advice as to what I ought 
to do. My own inclination is to put 
half a dozen of my farm lads in the 
shrubbery and when this fellow comes 
again to give him such a hiding that 
he will leave us in peace for the fu¬ 
ture.” 

“I fear it is'too deep a case for such 
simple remedies,” said Holmes. “How 
long can you stay in London?” 

“I must go back today. I would not 
leave my wife alone at night for any¬ 
thing. She is very nervous and begged 
me to come back.” 

“1 dare say you are right. But if you 
could' have stopped I might possibly 
have been able to return with you in a 
day or two. Meanwhile you will leave 
me these papers, and I think that it is 
very likely that I shall be able to pay 
you a visit shortly and to throw some 
light upon your case.” 

Sherlock Holmes preserved his calm 
professional manner until our visitor 
had left us, although it was easy for 
me, who knew him so well, to see that 
he was profoundly excited. The mo¬ 
ment that Hilton Quhrtt’s broad back 








i . , 

^ with any 4 

!i£Sffli^ letters or fi Vures and one or two 
colors of enamel, sterling silver, 
ff 25c. each'; fa.go a doz. Silver 

" ... plated, roc. each; J1.00 a doz. 

Special designs in pins or badges made for any 
class or society at reasonable prices; send design for esti¬ 
mates ; also manufacturers celluloid buttons and ribbon badge*, 
Catalogue free. Bastian Bros., 21 C 7 Rochester, H.Y. 



mm a n iBEVpm. SEVERAL AGENTS in 

Wmx S 1 gj P every town to work for 

WW iPlili I U8 OH a very liberal 

Cash commission 
basis. We have a Winning Proposition, some¬ 
thing new. Our Chicago agents are making 
from $3 to $7 a day. Send for full partic¬ 
ulars Today. Address 

THIS FOE THAT PUBLISHING CO. 

142 West Madison Street, Chicago, Illinois, 



HH HHH HU A - sample copy of our 
Hi M il m Giant Exchange Maga- 

Iff SNf ||i Us tine, 500 to IOOO 

m §3 g£ |8 HT exchanges published in 

SI m SHI! llili every issue. Books, 

Pictures. Cameras, Rel¬ 
ics, Stamps, Curios, Jewelry, Real Estate, 
Sporting Goods, Furniture, Poultry, Pigeons, 
dogs, etc., offered for exchange ana sale. The 
only exchange paper published in America. 
Trial 6-months, subscription IO cents. Peoples 
Publishing Co. 144 W. Madison St., Chicago. 


Scarce U. S. Postage 





Fair 

Fine 

.50 ct. 1894 


13 

15 

1.00 



40 

4 i? 

2.00 



........... 1.55 

1.6s 

5.00 



2.10 

2.25 

• 5 ° 

1895 


.os 

.07 

1.00 



.- -U 

.19 

2.00 



' .85 

1.05 

5.00 



■95 

1.25 

. .50 ct. Omaha 


........ .13 

.15 

1.00 

Omaha 


•65 

.70 

3.00 



1.35 

1.40 

.50 ct. 1902 


.03 

*o 7 

I..OO 



.18 

.20 

2.00 



1.os 

1.15 

5.00 



1,00 

1.80 


Postag;e 2c. extra under 25 net. Others as cheap. 
F. B.Kirby, 227 Arnold St., New Bedford,Mass 


C Mention the Realm when answering ads 


“Popular Stories** 

Ten cents will pay for a year’s subscription to 
Popular Stories; the 20 century up-to-date Month* 
ly Magazine; full of good stories and handsomely 
illustrated, of interest to the whole family; we' 
give thousands of dollars in cash and valuable 
premiums to club raisers; and give our subscrib¬ 
ers the opportunity of earning these. DO IT 
NOW. Send 10 cents for a full year’s subscription 
to our popular magazine. 

POPULAR STORIES, St. Paul, Minn, 

S TAMPS. 100 all foreign stamps, 1 stamp 
album, 100 hinges & approval sheets for 
6c in stamps. 

E. E. DUCKETT, Joplin, Mo. 


CHINESE USE& STAMPS fOR SALE 

1S9S issue, in good condition. Mixed stamps ^c.ic 
2c at 20c per 100; mixed 4c 5c 10c at 70c per 100; 
20c 3c each; 30c 5 c each; 50c 10c each; $1 22ceach. 
Set J-ioc, 25c per 10 sets; §- 30c, 10c per set; i-2c 
to $1, 42c a set. A 10 p c disct. also allowed from 
above prices tor order over $3.00 Cash with order. 
Postage Extra. 

HOMER H. W O U G 

Cd. 14 Morrison Road, Shanghai, China 


Pd?* fVtltC we send you our large 

1 UI LV magazine for three months 

and also send your name to several hundred pub¬ 
lishers, asking each to send you a copy of paper. 

ANYBODY’S MAGAZINE. 

116 Elm St., Peekskill, N. Y. 


Minerals, 


Sh e 11 s, 

INDIAN 

RELICS, 


COINS, PAPER MONEY & CTftMBC 
USend for our free price list of U I AmlO 
3000 bargains. A. Bullard & Company , 
446 Tremont Street, Boston, Massachusetts 


Mention the Realm when answering advs. 



Anyone sending a sketch and description may 
quickly ascertain our opinion free whether an 
invention is probably patentable. Communica¬ 
tions strictly confidential. Handbook on Patents 
sent free. Oldest agency for securing patents. 

Patents taken through Munn & Co. receive 
special notice, without charge, in the 

Scientific Jfntericsn. 

A handsomely illustrated weekly. Largest cir¬ 
culation of any scientific journal, ’terms, $3 a 
year; four months, $ 1 . Sold by all newsdealers. 

0Q 361 Broadway, New York 

Branch Office, 625 F St., Washington, D. C. 



























|56e YcmtH’s Ft e aim 


is published on the first of every month. 
T E R M S, 35 cents per year, in advance. 

Special Library Edition, heavy paper, 50c yr* 
Advertising Rates, 90 cents inch, 45c 34 inch. 
Ent’d at P.O. Boston at 2nd class rates Jan.14*97. 

A. Bullard & Co., 446 Tremont St., Boston 


had disappeared through the door my 
comrade rushed to the table, laid out 
all the slips of paper containing danc¬ 
ing men in front of him and threw him¬ 
self into an intricate and elaborate cal¬ 
culation. For two hours I watched him 
as he covered sheet after sheet of paper 
with figures and letters, so completely 
absorbed in his task that he had evi¬ 
dently forgotten my presence. Some¬ 
times he was making progress and 
whistled and sang at his work. Some¬ 
times he was puzzled and would sit for 
long spells with a furrowed brow and 
a vacant eye. Finally he sprang from 
his chair with a cry of satisfaction and 
walked up and down the room rubbing 
his hands together. Then he wrote a 
long telegram upon a cable form. “If 
my answer to this is as I hope, you will 
have a very pretty case to add to your 
collection, Watson,” said he. “I expect 
that we shall be able to go down to 
Norfolk tomorrow and to take our 
friend some very definite news as to 
the.secret of his annoyance.” 

I confess that I was filled with curi- 
r oslty, but I was aware that Holmes 
liked to make his disclosures at his own 
time and in his own way, so I waited 
until it should suit him to take me into 
his confidence. 

But there was a delay in that an¬ 
swering telegram, and two days of 
impatience followed, during which 
Holmes pricked up his ears at every 
ting of the bell. On the evening of the 
second there came a letter from Hilton 
Cubitt. All was quiet with him, save 
that a long inscription had appeared 
that morning upon the pedestal of the 
sundial. He inclosed a copy of it, which 
is here reproduced: 

xfeuxiUm 

Holmes bent over this grotesque 
frieze for some minutes and then sud¬ 
denly sprang to his feet, with an ex¬ 
clamation of surprise and dismay. His 
face was haggard with anxiety. 

“We have let this affair go far 
enough,” said he. “Is there a train to 
North Walsham tonight?” 

I turned up the time table. The last 
had just gone. 

“Then we shall breakfast early and 
take the very first in the morning,” 
said Holmes. “Our presence is most 
urgently needed. Ah, here is our ex¬ 
pected cablegram. One moment, Mrs. 
Hudson; there may be an answer. No, 
that Is quite as I expected. This mes¬ 
sage makes It even more essential that 
we should not lose an hour in letting 
Hilton Cubitt know how matters stand, 
for it is a singular and a dangerous 
iweb in which our simple Norfolk squire 
is entangled.” 

So indeed it proved, and as I come to 
the dark conclusion of a story which 
had seemed to me to be only childish 
and bizarre I experience onee again the 
dismay and horror with which I was 
filled. Would that I had some brighter 
ending to communicate to my readers, 
but these are the chronicles of fact, 
and I must follow to their dark crisis - 
the strange chain of events which for 
some days made Riding Thorpe Manor 
a household word through the length 
and breadth of England.” 

We had hardly alighted at North 
Walsham and mentioned the name of 
our destination when the station mas¬ 
ter hurried toward us. “I suppose that 
you are the detectives from London?” 
said he. 


A look of annoyance passed over 
Holmes’ face. 

“What makes you think such a 
thing?” 

“Because Inspector Martin from 
Norwich has just passed through. But 
maybe you are the surgeons. She’s not 
dead, or wasn’t by last accounts. You 
may be in time to save her yet, though 
it be for the gallows.” 

Holmes’ brow was dark with anxiety. 

“We are going to Riding Thorpe Man¬ 
or,” said he, “but we have heard noth¬ 
ing of what has passed there.” 

“It’s a terrible business,” said the 
station master. “They are shot, both 
Mr. Hilton Cubitt and his wife. She 
shot him and then herself, so the serv¬ 
ants say. He’s dead and her life is de¬ 
spaired of. Dear, dear, one of the old¬ 
est families in the county of Norfolk 
and one of the most honored!” 

Without a word Holmes hurried to a 
carriage, and during the long seven 
mile drive he never opened his mouth. 
Seldom have I seen him so utterly de¬ 
spondent. He had been uneasy during 
all our journey from town, and I had 
observed that he had turned over the 
morning papers with anxious attention, 
but now this sudden realization of his 
vmrst fears left him in a blank melan¬ 
choly. He leaned back in his seat, lost 
in gloomy speculation. Yet there was 
much around to interest us, for we 
were passing through as singular a 
countryside as any in England, where 
a few scattered cottages represented 
the population of today, while on ev¬ 
ery hand enormqus square towered 
churches bristled up from the flat, 
green landscape and told of the glory 
and prosperity of old East Anglia. At 
last the violet rim of the German 
ocean appeared over the green edge of 
the Norfolk coast, and the driver point¬ 
ed with his whip to two old brick and 
timber gables which projected from a 
grove of trees. “That’s Riding Thorpe 
Manor,” said he. 

As we drove up to the porticoed front 
door I observed in front of it, beside the 
tennis lawn, the black tool house and 
the pedestaled sundial with which we 
had such strange associations. A dap¬ 
per little man, with a quick, alert 
manner and a waxed mustache, had 
just descended from a high dogcart. 
He introduced himself as Inspector 
Martin of the Norfolk constabulary, 
and he was considerably astonished 
when he heard the name of my com¬ 
panion. 

“Why, Jgr. Holmes, the crime was 
only committed at 3 this morning. How 
could you hear of it in London and get 
to the spot as soon as I?” 

‘ “I anticipated it. I came in the hope 
of preventing it.” 

“Then you must have important evi¬ 
dence of which we are ignorant, for 
they were said to be a most united 
couple.” 

“I have only the evidence of the danc¬ 
ing men,” said Holmes. “I will ex¬ 
plain the matter to you later. Mean¬ 
while, since It is too late to prevent this 
tragedy, I am very anxious that I 
^should use the knowledge which I pos¬ 
sess in order to insure that justice be 
done. Will you associate me in your 
investigation or will you prefer that I 
should act independently?” 

“I should be proud to feel that we 
were acting together, Mr. Holmes,” 
said the inspector earnestly. 

“In that case I should be glad to hear 
the evidence and to examine the prem¬ 
ises without an Instant of unnecessary 
delay.” 

Inspector Martin had the good sense 
to allow my friend to do things in his 
own fashion and contented himself 
with carefully noting the results. ~ The 

local surgeon, an old, white haired 
man., had just come down from Mrs. 
Hilton Oubitt’s room, and he reported 
that her Injuries were serious, but not 
necessarily fatal. . The, bullet, had 


passed through the front of her brain, 
and it would probably be some time be¬ 
fore she could regain consciousness. 
On the question of whether she had 
been shot or had shot herself he would 
not venture to express any decided 
opinion. Certainly the bullet had been 
discharged at very close quarters. 
There was only the one pistol found in 
the room, two barrels of which had 
been emptied. Mr. Hilton Cubitt had 
been shot through the heart. It was 
equally conceivable that he had shot 
her and then himself or that she had 
been the criminal, for the revolver lay 
upon the floor midway between them. 

“Has he been moved?” asked Holmes. 

“We have moved nothing except the 
lady. We could not leave her lying 
wounded upon the floor.” 

“How long have you been here, doc¬ 
tor?” 

“Since 4 o’clock.” 

“Any one else?” 

“Yes, the constable here.” 

“And you have touched nothing?” 

“Nothing.” 

“You have acted with great discre¬ 
tion. Who sent for you?” 

“The housemaid, Saunders.” 

“Was It she who gave the alarm?” 

“She and Mrs. King, the cook.” 

“Where are they now?” 

“In the kitchen, I believe.” 

“Then I think we had better hear 
their story at once.” 

The old hall, oak paneled and high 
Windowed, had been turned into a court 
of investigation. Holmes sat in a 
great, old fashioned chair, his inexora¬ 
ble eyes gleaming out of his haggard 
face. I could read in them a set pur¬ 
pose to devote his life to this quest 
until the client whom he had failed to 
save should at last be avenged. The 
trim Inspector Martin, the old, gray 
headed country doctor, myself and a 
stolid village policeman made up the 
rest of that strange company. 

The two women told their story clear¬ 
ly enough. They had been aroused 
from their sleep by the sound of an 
explosion, which had been followed a 
minute later by a second one. They 
slept in adjoining rooms, and Mrs. 
King had rushed In to Saunders. To¬ 
gether they had descended the stairs. 
The door of the study was open, and 
a candle was burning upon the table. 
Their master lay upon his face in the 
center of the room. He was quite 
dead. Near the window his wife was 
crouching, her head leaning against 
the wall. She was horribly wounded, 
and the side of her face was red with 
blood. She breathed heavily, but was 
Incapable of saying anything. The 
passage as well as the room was full 
of smoke and the smell of powder. 
The window was certainly shut and 
fastened upon the inside. Both wo¬ 
men were positive upon the point. 
They had at once sent for the doctor 
and for the constable. Then, with the 
aid of the groom and the stable boy, 
they had conveyed their Injured mis¬ 
tress to her room. Both she and her 
husband had occupied the bed. She 
was clad in her dress, he in his dress¬ 
ing gown, over his night clothes. Noth¬ 
ing had been moved in the study. So 
far as they knew, there had never been 
any quarrel between husband and wife. 
They had always looked upon them as 
a very united couple. 

These were the main points of the 
servants’ evidence. In answer to In¬ 
spector Martin they were clear that ev¬ 
ery door was fastened upon the inside 
and that no one could have escaped 
from the house. In answer to Holmes 
they both remembered that they were 
conscious of the smell of powder from 
the moment that they ran out of their 
rooms upon the top floor. “I commend 
that fact very carefully to your atten¬ 
tion,” said Holmes to his professional 
colleague. “And now I think that we 
arg_in_a j>ositiftn_to_ undertake,a thor- 




STAMPS 

IOO Java, China&c.un 
usual value , and also 
a stamp dictionary & 
big illustrated list of 
1000 bargains, all the 
above post paid for 2c 
Only one lot to each. Stamps in an 
album free to agents. 50 p.c.eommis- 
i sion. A. Bullard & Co., Philatelic' 

^ Dept., 446 Tremont St., Boston, Mass. 

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 




We sell it. Here is your chance to get 
THE COLLECTOR’S OWN CATALOG 

of the Adhesive POSTAGE STAMPS 
of All Nations of the WORLD, for only 
TEN CENTS, Postage Free. 

It is the latest edition, fully illustrated, describ¬ 
ing and pricing the stamps as they should be in 
both used and unused condition, complete from 
A to Z in One volume. The leading catalogues 
of the world have been consulted and thousands 
of stamps examined in order that the prices given 
shall be consistent throughout and reflect the 
actual state of the market. Fictitious values placed 

on stamps of minor variety have been overlooked 
and an attempt made where possible to give the 
best average price for the average specimen of 
each distinct issue. The illustrations are profuse 
and the system of classification the simplest and 
best. This book is a necessity to everyone who 
collects stamps and we have made the price 10c 
in order that every collector may own a copy. 'Be¬ 
fore we innovated tbe popular, low-priced edition, 
no complete catalogue could be purchased for less 
than five times the cost of this. 

Invest xo cents in this book and you will save, 
when buying or selling stamps, many times its 
value the first week you own the book. Fill out 
the coupon at once, while this offer holds good. 

Gentlemen : Enclosed is ten cents for a copy 
of the last edition of “The Collector’s Own Cat¬ 
alog.” 

Name... .... . . 

Addr’s.......... 


A. BULLARD & COMPANY, 
Sta. A. Boston, Mass. 



STAMP COL¬ 
LECTIONS 

GIVEN 
AWAY. 

1 *HIS big outfit 
■ consists o f 
©»e WORLD 
stamp album, lat¬ 
est edition, fully 
illustrated with 

exits of the various postage stamps of the 
world, and provided with spaces for a large 
collection of 2,300 varieties ; one sheet of best 
hinge paper for mounting stamps ; one packet 
of IOO stamps, cataloguing about $1.50, and 
including : Shanghai, Jamaica (Jubilee, etc.) 
Bogota, a U. S worth 25c, Argentine, Cuba 
50c, unused, of 1875, ’79, ’80, Mexico, Servia, 
and others ; and our illustrated lists of stamps 
and premiums. This collection will give you 
a good start, and what duplicates you find can 
ibe exchanged with the boys for other stamps. 
This great collection free, as a premium, it 
you will send only 35 c for a year’s subscrip¬ 
tion to this'paper. You never before heard of 
an offer equal to this one, made simply to add 
10,000 or more names to our subscription list. 
% Collection not sold without subscription. 

REALM, Sta. A, Boston,Mass 



BOYS 

* AND 

GIRLS 

WANTED 

everywhere 
to act as 
agents for 
the Realm. 

JO per cent. 

commission. Send 8c for outfit and we will give 
you free besides, one package con. 
taming: 100 foreign stamps, Jamaica 
etc., 1 set 8 Japanese stamps, 1 pocket 
stamp album,4 blank approval sheets, 
i_ sample best gum paper, 1 perfora 
tion gauge, 1 millimeter scale, 1 sel 
8 obsolete U. S. stamps and revs., ane 
our bargain lists. Write at once be 
fore we withdraw this big offer. 

A. BULLARD & COMPANY 

446 Tremont Street, BOSTON . MASS. 























































ough examination of the room.” 

The study proved to be a small cham¬ 
ber lined on three sides with books 
and with a writing table facing an or¬ 
dinary window, which looked out upon 
the garden. Our first attention was 
given to the body of the unfortunate 
squire, whose huge frame lay stretch¬ 
ed across the room. His disordered 
dress showed that he had been hastily 
aroused from sleep. The bullet had 
been fired at him from the front and 
had regained in his body after pene¬ 
trating the heart. His death had cer¬ 
tainly been instantaneous and painless. 
There was no powder marking either 
upon his dressing gown or on his 
hands. According to the country sur¬ 
geon, the lady "had stains upon her 
face, but none upon her hand. 

“The absence of the latter means 
nothing, though its presence may mean 
everything,” said Holmes. “Unless the 
powder from a badly fitting cartridge 
happens to spurt backward one may 
fire many shots without leaving a sign. 
I would sfiggest that Mr. Cubitt’s body 
may now be removed. I suppose, doc¬ 
tor, you have not recovered the bullet 
which wounded the lady ?” 

“A serious operation will be necessa¬ 
ry before that can be done. But there 
are still four cartridges in the revolver. 
Two have been fired and two wounds 
Inflicted, so that each bullet can be ac¬ 
counted for. 

“So it would seem,” said Holmes. 
“Perhaps you can account also for the 
bullet which has so obviously struck 
the edge of the window?” 

He had turned suddenly, and his 
long, thin finger was pointing to a hole 
which had been drilled right through 
the lower window sash about an inch 
above the bottom. 

“By George!” cried the inspector. 
“How ever did you see that?” 

“Because I looked for it.” 
“Wonderful!” said the country doc¬ 
tor. “You are certainly right, sir. Then 
a third shot has been fired, and there¬ 
fore a third person must have been 
present. But who could that have been 
and how could he have got away?” 

“That is the problem which we are 
now about to solve,” said Sherlock 
Holmes. “You remember, Inspector 
Martin, when the servants said that on 
leaving their room they were at once 
conscious of a smell of powder I re¬ 
marked that the point was an extreme¬ 
ly important one?” 

“Yes, sir; but I confess I did no.t 
quite follow you.” 

“It suggested that at the time of the 
firing the window as well as the door 
of the room had been open. Otherwise 
the fumes of powder could not have 
been blown so rapidly through the 
house. A draft in the room was nec¬ 
essary for that. Both door and win¬ 
dow were only open for a very short 
time, however.” 

“How do you prove that?” 

“Because the candle was not gut¬ 
tered.” 

“Capital!” cried the inspector. “Cap¬ 
ital!” 

“Feeling sure that the window had 
been open at the time of the tragedy, 

I conceived that there might have been 
a third person in the affair, who stood 
outside this opening and fired through 
it. Any shot directed at this person 
might hit the sash. I looked, and there, 
sure enough, was the bullet mark!” 

“But how came the window to be 
shut and fastened?” 

“The woman’s first instinct would be 
to shut and fasten the window. But, 
hello! What is this?” 

It was a lady’s hand bag which stood 
upon the study table—a trim little hand 
bag of crocodile skin and silver. 
Holmes opened it and turned the con¬ 
tents out. There were twenty fifty 
pound notes of the Bank of England, 
held together by an india rubber band- 
nothing, else. 


“This must be preserved, for it will 
figure in the trial,” said Holmes as he 
handed the bag with its contents to the 
inspector. “It is now necessary that 
we should try to throw some light upon 
this third bullet, which has clearly, 
from the splintering of the wood, been 
fired from inside the room. I should 
like to see Mrs. King, the cook, again. 
You said, Mrs. King, that you were 
awakened by a loud explosion. When 
you said that did you mean that it 
seemed to you to be louder than the 
second one?” 

“Well, sir, it wakened me from my 
sleep, and so it is hard to judge. But 
it did seem very loud.” 

“You don’t think that it might have 
been two shots fired almost at the same 
instant?” 

“I am sure I couldn’t say, sir.” 

“I believe that it was undoubtedly 
so. I rather think, Inspector Martin, 
that we have now exhausted all that 
this room can teach us. If you will 
kindly step round with me, we shall 
see what fresh evidence the garden has 
to offer.” 

A flower bed extended up to the 
study window, and we all broke into 
an exclamation as we ajrproached it. 

. The flowers were trampled down, and 
the soft soil was imprinted all over 
with footmarks. Large, masculine feet 
they were, with peculiarly long, sharp 
toes'. Holmes hunted about among the 
grass and leaves like a retriever after 
a wounded bird. Then, with a cry of 
satisfaction, he bent forward and pick¬ 
ed up a little brazen cylinder. 

“I thought so,” said he. “The re¬ 
volver had an ejector, and here is the 
third cartridge. I really think, In¬ 
spector Martin, that our case is almost 
complete.” 

The country inspector’s face had 
shown his intense amazement at the 
rapid and masterful progress of Holmes’ 
investigation. At first he had shown 
some disposition to assert his own posi¬ 
tion, but now he was overcome with 
admiration and ready to follow with¬ 
out question wherever Holmes led. 

“Whom do you suspect?” he asked. 

“I’ll go into that later. There are 
several points in this problem which I 
have not been able to explain to you 
yet. Now that I have got so far I 
had best proceed on my own lines and 
then clear the whole matter up once 
and for all.” 

“Just as you wish, Mr. Holmes, so 
long as we get our man.” 

“I have no desire to make mysteries, 
but it is impossible at the moment of 
action to enter into long and complex 
explanations. I have the threads of 
this affair all In my hand. Even if 
this lady should never recover con¬ 
sciousness we can still reconstruct the 
events of last night and insure that 
justice be done. First of all, I wish to 
know whether there is any inn in this 
neighborhood known as Elrige’s?” 

The servants were cross questioned, 
but none of them had heard of such a 
place. The stable boy threw a light up¬ 
on the matter by remembering that a 
farmer of that name lived some miles 
off in the direction of East Ruston. 

“Is it a lonely farm?” 

“Very lonely, sir.” 

“Perhaps they have not heard yet of 
all that happened here during the 
night?” 

“Maybe not, sir.” 

Holmes thought for a little, and then 
a curious smile played over his face. 

“Saddle a horse, my lad,” said he. “I 
■hall wish you to take a note to El¬ 
rige’s farm.” 

He took from his pocket the various 
■lips of the dancing men. With these In 
front of him he worked for some time 
at the study table. Finally he handed 
a note to the boy, with directions to 
put it into the hands of the person to 
whom it was addressed, and especially 
to answer, no Questions of any sort 


which might be put to him. I saw the 
outside of the note, addressed in strag¬ 
gling, irregular characters, very unlike 
Holmes’ usual precise hand. It was 
consigned to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrige’s 
farm, East Ruston, Norfolk. 

“I think, inspector,” Holmes remark¬ 
ed, “that you would do well to tele¬ 
graph for an escort, as, if my calcula¬ 
tions prove to be correct, you may have 
& particularly dangerous prisoner t® 

convey to the county jail. The boy 
Who takes this note could no doubt for¬ 
ward your telegram. If there is an aft¬ 
ernoon train to town, Watson, I think 
we should do well to take it, as I have 
a chemical analysis of some interest to 
finish, and this investigation draws rap- 
ly to a close.” 

When the youth had been dispatched 
with the note, Sherlock Holmes gave 
his instructions to the servants. If any 
visitor were to call, asking for Mrs. 
Hilton Cubitt, no information should 
be given as to her condition, but he was 
to be shown at once into the drawing 
room. He impressed these points upon 
them with the utmost earnestness. 
Finally he led the way into the draw¬ 
ing room, with the remark that the 
business was now out of our hands and 
that we must while away the time as 
best we might until we could see what 
was In store for us. The doctor had de¬ 
parted to his patients, and only the in¬ 
spector and myself remained. 

“I think that I can help you to pass 
an hour in an interesting and profit¬ 
able manner,” said Holmes, drawing 
his chair up to the table and spreading 
out in front of him the various papers 
upon which were recorded the antics 
of the dancing men. “As to you, friend 



He sank with a deep groan on to the 
settee. 


Watson, I owe you every atonement 
for having allowed your natural curi¬ 
osity to remain so long unsatisfied. 
To you, inspector, the whole incident 
may appeal as a remarkable profes¬ 
sional study. I must tell you, first of 
all, the interesting circumstances con¬ 
nected with the previous consultations 
which Mr. Hilton Cubitt has had with 
me in Baker street.” He then shortly 
recapitulated the facts which have al¬ 
ready been recorded. “I have here in 
front of me these singular productions, 
at which one might smile had they not 
proved themselves to be the forerun¬ 
ners of so terrible a tragedy. I am 
fairly familiar with all forms of secret 
writings and am myself the author of a 
trifling monograph upon the subject, in 
which I analyze 160 separate ciphers, 
but I confess that this is entirely new 
to me. The object of those who in¬ 
vented the system has apparently been 
to conceal that these characters con- 
vey a message and to give the idea that 
they are the mere random sketches of 
children. " 

“Having once recognized, however, 
that the symbols stood for letters, and 
having applied the rules which guide 
us in all forms of secret writings, the 
solution was easy enough. The first 
message submitted ,ta_me . wgs ^o,shQi't 


that it was impossible for me to do 
more than to say with some confidence 
that the symbol ^ stood for E. As you 
are aware, E is the most common let¬ 
ter in the English alphabet, and it pre 
dominates to so marked an extent that 
even in a short sentence one would ex¬ 
pect to find it most often. Out of fif¬ 
teen symbols in the first message four 
were the same, so it was reasonable to 
set this down as E. It is true that in 
some cases the figure was bearing a 
flag and in some cases not, but it was 
probable, from the way in which the 
flags were distributed, that they were 
used to break the sentence up into 
words. I accepted this as a hypothesis 
and noted that E was represented by 

“But now came the real difficulty of 
the inquiry. The order of the English 
letters after E is by no means well 
marked, and any preponderance which 
may be shown in an average of a 
printed sheet may be reversed in a sin¬ 
gle short sentence. Speaking roughly, 
T, A, O, I, N, S, H, R, D and L are the 
numerical order in which these letters 
occur, but T, A, O and I are very near¬ 
ly abreast of each other, and it would 
be an endless task to try each combi¬ 
nation until a meaning was arrived at. 
I therefore waited for fresh material. 
In my second interview with Mr. Hil¬ 
ton Cubitt he was able to give me two 
other short sentences and one message, 
which appeared, since there was no 
flag, to be a single word. Here are the 
symbols. Now, in the single word I 
have already got the two E’s coming 
■econd and fourth in a word of five let¬ 
ters. It might be ‘sever’ or ‘lever’ or 
‘never.’ There can be no question 
that the latter as a reply to an appeal 
Is far the most probable, and the cir¬ 
cumstances pointed to its being a reply 
written by the lady. Accepting it as 
correct, we are now able to say that 
the symbols 

■tand respectively for N, Y and R. 

“Even now I was in considerable 
difficulty, but a happy thought put me 
In possession of several other letters. 
It occurred to me that if these appeals 
came, as I expected, from some one 
who had been Intimate with the lady 
in her early life a combination which 
contained two E’s with three letters 
between might very well stand for the 
name ‘ELSIE.’ On examination I 
found that such a combination formed 
the termination of the message, which 
was three times repeated. It was cer¬ 
tainly some appeal to ‘Elsie.’ In this 
way I had got my L, S and I. But 
what appeal could it be? There were 
only four letters in the word which 

preceded ‘Elsie,’ and it ended in E, 
Surely the word must be ‘COME.’ I 
tried all other four letters ending in 
E, but could find none to fit the case. 
So now I was in possession of C, O 
and M, and I was in a position to at¬ 
tack the first message once more, di¬ 
viding it into words and putting dots 
for each symbol which was still un¬ 
known. So treated it worked out in 
this fashion: 

M . ERE' . . E SL . NE . 

“Now, the first letter can only be A, 
which is a most useful discovery, since 
it occurs no fewer than three times in 
this short sentence, and the H is also 
apparent in the second word. Now it 
becomes: 

AM HERE A . E SLANE . 

Or, filling in the obvious vacancies in 
the name: 

AM HERE ABE SLANEY. 

I had so many letters now that I could 
proceed with considerable confidence 
to th« second message, which worked 
out is this fashion: 

A. ELRI.ES. 

Here I could only make sense by put¬ 
ting T and G for the missing letters 

Continued on page 7 


























A REGULAR MONTHLY CUPPLEME/VT, COAITAIAilAS THE 

spamp news 


CHINA 


STAMPS. 100 Honduras 



etc., album & 
1905 illustratd 
list, TWO 
cents. Agts 50 
%. Booklet 
telling how to 
scientifica 1 1 y 
repair dam* 
aged stamps 
FREE to new 


agents. Illustrated list of thousands of bar¬ 
gains, free. Hill Stamp Go ., S. End , Boston 


A HOME-MADE U. S. STAMP ALBUM 
Without Minor Varieties 
(To be Continued Monthly) 

SE an unruled blank book of suitable size. Rule off the squares 
exactly as in the diagrams. They should be of the same size. 
The envelope section (see lower diagram) should be made in' 


the last half of the book. If one is a goodletterer it is best to print 
or write the text, in a neat hand, with a jet-black ink, following the 
copy ; but some may prefer to cut out the printed descriptions and 
carefully paste them into the album. When complete your album 
will hold about 200 general issue adhesives, some 40 due starrips, 100 
departments and nearly 150 envelope and wrapper stamps—making 
as complete a U. S. album as the average collector could possibly fill. 


STAMP NEWS. 

i ... - y. v ■ 

S pecialism is 
n o t. alone 
confined to 
the collec¬ 
tor, but to a greater 
or less extent is re¬ 
sorted to by many 
dealers. A recent 
advertisement an¬ 
nounces that Messrs. 
So and So will sell 
nothing but U. S. 
stamps after Sep¬ 
tember. One concern 
makes a specialty of 
stamps for beginners, 
another sells mostly 
rare stamps, and still 
another sells other 
people’s stamps by 
auction only. 

Twenty years ago 
a stamp dealer wtys 
a general dealer, 
just as all collectors 
were general collec¬ 
tors and all physic¬ 
ians treated all kinds - 
of diseases. But just 
as an increased 
knowledge in medi¬ 
cal science, together 
with a growing pop¬ 
ulation liable to 
sickness, has made 
specialism in medi¬ 
cine imperative, so 
has the enlarged 
field of philatelic 
knowledge, the mul¬ 
tiplicity of issues 
and the increasing 
number of collectors 
Drought before the 
public the dealer- 
specialist of to-day. 


This is the month 
of the Amerian Phil¬ 
atelic and other asso¬ 
ciation conventions. 


Those firms who 
sell for little or noth¬ 
ing a handful of 
'stamps for a starter 
to beginners are the 
real missionaries of 
the pursuit. They 
increase the number 
of collectors and cre¬ 
ate business not only 
for themselves but 
for all others who 
handle stamps. 



5c chocolate; Columbus before Isabella 6c purple; welcomed at Barcelona 


8c magenta; -restored to favor ioc slate; Columbus and natives 


v y 


15c green; announcing lbs discovery 30c brown; C. at La Rabida 50c slate-blue; his recall 1.00 salmon; Isabella pledging her jewels 


2.00 red-brown; C in chains 3 00 green; describing his 3rd voyage 4.00 carmine; portraits of C. and queen; 5.00 black; Columbus 


Envelopes 

Continued 

6c red on 
white ( 2 v a r. ) 
amber, cream or 
fawn paper. 


7 c vermilion 
on amber, 10 c 
brown on white, 
amber, blue or 
manila. 


12c plum, 15c 
orange, 24c pur¬ 
ple, 30c black or 
brown, 90c car¬ 
mine or purple. 



- . 

r 


■ ' ./ 


\ 



■ ) - ■ 


' \ 

- 

• 







































































































and supposing that the name was that 
bf some house or inn at which the 
Writer was staying.” 

Inspector Martin and I had listened 
with the utmost interest to the full 
and clear account of how my friend 
had produced results which had led 
to so complete a command over our 
difficulties. 

“What did you do then, sir?” asked 
the inspector. 

“I had every reason to suppose that 
this Abe Slaney was an American, 
since Abe is an American contraction 
and since a letter from America had 
been the starting point of all the trou¬ 
ble. I had also every cause to think 
that there was some criminal secret 
in the matter. The lady’s allusions to 
her past and her refusal to take her 
husband into her confidence both point¬ 
ed in that direction. I therefore cabled 
to my friend, Wilson Hargreave of the 
New York police bureau, who has 
more than once made use of my knowl¬ 
edge of London crime. I asked him 
whether the name of Abe Slaney was 
known to him. - Here is the reply: ‘The 
most dangerous crook in Chicago.’ On 
the very evening upon which I had his 
answer Hilton Cubitt sent me the last 
message from Slaney. Working with 
known letters, it took this form: 
ELSIE.RE. ARE TO MEET THY GO . 
The addition of a P and a D completed 
a message which showed me that the 
rascal was proceeding from persuasion 
to threats, and my knowledge of the 
crooks of Chicago prepared me to find 
that he might very rapidly put his 
words into action. I at once came to 
Norfolk with my friend and colleague, 
Dr. Watson, but, unhappily, only in 
time to find that the worst had already 
occurred.” 

“It is a privilege to be associated 
with you in the handling of a case,” 
said the inspector warmly. “You will 
excuse me, however, if I speak frankly 
to you. You are only answerable to 
yourself, but I have to answer to my 
superiors. If this Abe Slaney, living 
at Elrige’s, is indeed the murderer, and 
if he has made his escape while I am 

Seated here I should certainly get into 
serious trouble.” 

“You need not be uneasy. He will 
not try to escape.” 

“How do you know?” 

“To fly would be a confession of 
guilt.” 

“Then let us go to arrest him.” 

“I expeet him here every instant.” 

“But why should he come?” 

“Because I have written and asked 
him.” 

“But this is incredible, Mr. Holmes! 
Why should he come because you have 
asked him? Would not such a request 
rather rouse his suspicions and cause 
him to fly?” 

“I think I have known how to frame 
the letter,” said Sherlock Holmes. “In 
fact, if I am not very much mistaken, 
here is the gentleman himself coming 
up the drive.” 

A man was striding up the path 
which led to the door. He was a tall, 
handsome, swarthy fellow, clad In a 
suit of gray flannel, with a panama 
hat, a bristling black beard and a 
great, aggressive hooked nose, and 
flourishing a cane as he walked. He 
swaggered up the path as if the place 
belonged to him, and we heard his loud, 
confident peal at the bell. 

“I think, gentlemen,” said Holmes 
quietly, “that we had best take up our 
position behind the door. Every pre¬ 
caution is necessary when dealing with 
such a fellow. You will need your 
handcuffs, inspector. You can leave the 
talking to me.” 

W T e waited in silence for a minute- 
one of those minutes which one can 
never forget. Then the door opened 
and the man stepped in. In an instant 
Holmes clapped a pistol to his head, 
and Martin slipped the handcuffs over 


his wrists, it was all done so swiftly 
and deftly that the fellow was help¬ 
less before he knew that he was at¬ 
tacked. He glared from one to the 
Other of us with a pair of blazing black 
eyes. Then he burst into a bitter laugh. 

“Well, gentlemen, you have the drop 
on me this time. I seem to have knock¬ 
ed up against something hard. But I 
came here in answer to a letter from 
Mrs. Hilton Cubitt. Don’t tell me that 
she is in this! Don’t tell me that she 
helped to set a trap for me!” 

“Mrs. Hilton Cubitt was seriously in¬ 
jured and is at death’s door.” 

The man gave a hoarse cry of grief, 
iyhich rang through the house. 

“You’re crazy!” he cried fiercely, “It 
was he that was hurt, not she. Who 
would have hurt little Elsie? I may 
have threatened her—God forgive me! 
—but I would not have touched a hair 
of her pretty head: Take it back—you! 
Say that she is not hurt!” 

“She was found badly wounded by 
the side of her dead husband.” 

He sank with a deep groan on to the 
settee and buried his face in his man¬ 
acled hands. For five minutes he was 
Silent. Then he raised his face once 
mOre and spoke with the cold com¬ 
posure of despair. 

“I have nothing to hide from you, 
gentlemen,” said he. “if I shot the 
man he had his shot at me, and there’s ( 
no murder in that. But if you think I 
could have hurt that woman, then you 
don’t knew either- me or her. I tell 
you, there was never a man, in this 
world loved a woman more than I loved 
her. I had a right to her. She was 
pledged to me years ago. W T ho was 
this Englishman that he should come 
between us? I tell you that I had the 
first right to her and that I was only 
claiming my own.” 

“She broke away from your influence 
when she found the man that you are,” 
said Holmes sternly. “She fled from 
America to avoid you, and she married 
an honorable gentleman in England. 
You dogged her and followed her and 
made her life a misery to her in order 
to induce her to abandon the husband 
whom she loved and respected in order 
to fly with you, whom she feared and 
hated. You have ended by bringing 
. about the death of a noble man and 
driving his wife to suicide. That is 
your record in this business, Mr. Abe 
Slaney, and you will answer for it to 
the law.” 

“If Elsie dies I care nothing what 
becomes of me,” said the American. 

He opened one of his hands and look' 
ed at a note crumpled up in his palm. 
“See here, mister,” he cried, with a 
gleam of suspicion in his eyes, “you’re 
not trying to scare me over this, are 
you? If the lady is hurt as bad as 
you say, who was it that wrote this 
note?” He tossed it forward on to the 
table. 

“I wrote it to bring you here.” 

“You wrote it? There was no one 
on earth outside the Joint who knew 
the secret of the dancing men. How 
came you to write it?” 

“What one man can invent another 
can discover,” said Holmes. “There is 
a cab coming to convey you to Nor¬ 
wich, Mr. Slaney. But meanwhile you 
have time to make some small repara¬ 
tion for the injury you have wrought. 
Are you aware that Mrs. Hilton Cubitt 
has herself lain under grave suspicion 
of the murder of her husband and that 
it was only my presence here and the 
knowledge which I happened to pos¬ 
sess which has saved her from the ac¬ 
cusation? The least that you owe her 
is to make it clear to the whole world 
that she was in no way, directly or 
indirectly, responsible for his tragic 
end.” 

“I ask nothing better,” said the Amer¬ 
ican. “I guess the very best case I 
can make for myself is the absolute 

naked .truth.” 

• - « 


“It is my duty to warn you that it 

will be used against you,” cried the 
inspector, with the magnificent fair 
play of the British criminal law*. 

Slaney shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’ll chance that,” said he. “First of 
all, I want you gentlemen to under¬ 
stand that I have known this lady 
Since she was a child. There were'sev- 
6 n of uS In a gang in Chicago, and El¬ 
sie’s father was the boss of the Joint. 
Me was a clever man, was old Fatrick. 
It was- he who invented that writing, 
Which would pass as a child's scrawl 
unless you just happened to have the 
key to it. Well, Elsie 1 learned some of 
Our ways, but she couldn’t stand the 
business, and she had a bit of -honest 
ffioney of her own, so she gave us all 
thO slip and got away to London. She 
had been engaged to me, and she would 
hkvO married me, I believe, if I had 
taken over another profession, but she 
Would have nothing to do with any¬ 
thing on the cross. It was only after 
her marriage to this Englishman that I 
was able to find out where she was. I 
Wrote to her, but got no answer. After 
that I came over, and, as letters were 
no use, I put my messages where she 
could read them. 

“Well, I have been here a month 
flow, I lived on that farm, where I had 
a room down below, and could get in 
and out every night and no one the 
Wiser. I tried all I could to coax Elsie 
away. I knew, that she read the mes¬ 
sages, for once she wrote an answer 
under one of them. Then my temper 
got the better of me, and I began to 
threaten her. She sent me a letter then, 
Imploring me to go away, and saying 
that it would break her heart If any 
scandal should come upon her husband. 
She said that she would come down 
when her husband was asleep at 3 in 
the morning and speak with me 
through the end window, if I would go 
away afterward and leave her In peace. 
She came down and brought money 
with her, trying to bribe me to go. 
This made me mad, and I caught her 
arm and tried to pull her through the 
window. At that moment in rushed 
the husband with his revolver in his 
hand. Elsie had sunk down upon the 
floor, and we were face to face. I was 
heeled also, and I held up my gun to 
scare him off and let me get away. He 
fired and missed me. I pulled off al¬ 
most at the same instant, and down he 
dropped. I made away across the gar¬ 
den, and as I went I heard the window 
shut behind me. That’s God’s truth, 
gentlemen, every word of it; and I 
heard no more about it until that lad 
came riding up with a note which made 
me walk in here like a jay and give 
myself into your hands.” 

A cab had driven up while the Amer¬ 
ican had been talking. Two uniformed 
policemen sat inside. Inspector Mar-. 

' tin rose and touched his prisoner on the 
shoulder. * 

“It is time for us to go.” 

“Can I see her first?” 

“No, she is not conscious. ( Sherlock 
Holmes, I only hope that if ever again 
I have an important case I shall have 
the good fortune to have you by my 
side.” 

We stood at the window and watched 
the cab drive away. As I turned back 
my eye caught the pellet of papei 
which the prisoner had tossed upon the 
table. It was the note with which 
Holmes had decoyed him. 

“See if you can read it, Watson,” said 
he, with a smile. 

It contained no word, but this little 
line of dancing men: 

“If you use the code which I have ex¬ 
plained,” said Holmes, “you will find 
that it simply means ‘Come here at 
once.’ I was convinced that it was an 
invitation which he would not refuse* 


! 


♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ft 

STAMP ALBUM FREE l 

From July ist until Jan. ist, 1906 we 
are going to give away 100 of Scott’s 
latest edition of the International Post. 
Sta’p Album,absolutely free of charge. 

We are making this exceptional otter 
to collectors simply to circulate our lat¬ 
est wholesale and retail price list, and 
will charge the full amount expended 
therefore to our advertising account. 
Send us your full name and address at 
once and own one of these albums. Al¬ 
so sepd the names and addresses of two ■©• 
collectors. Central City Stamp Co. j 
Dept. R. Syracuse, N. Y. J 

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦«(♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ 
CTAMDC rnrr 20 u.s. revenues 

OlAMrO TULL Cat. value 27c for the 
names of two collectors and two cents postage. 
40 Japan mounted on sheet, only 25c. io 
Cuban revs. ioc. 11 U.S. 1902 1 to 50c ioc. 
5 St. Louis 1 to ioc 12c, 20 Russia ioc. 

Lists Free. We buy stamps.' Buying list ioc. 
Ask for list of 34 and ic stamps. 

WHOLESALE 

100 Cuban revs. 7c. 100 Cuban 5c 1891 ioc* 

100 Mexico ir unused 35c. 100 Venezuela 

5c gray 25c. 100 Corea 2r 1900 25c. 100 

Corea 2r 1904 25c. 10 sets 10 Cuba Revs 35c 

100 sets 2.00 10, Guatemala 1886 asst. cat. 8c 
to 15c, 25c. 100, $1.50, 50 blank sheets ioc 
loo, 19c. 10 blank approval books 15c. 100 

90c. Write for wholesale list. Many bargains. 

Toledo Stamp Co, Toledo , 0. U>JS.A 

RAW COINS jgjL % 

Paper Money 1||§8 $ 

- stamps ^iipr 



Morocco, large brass 128.0 
“ small “ “ cast 

Constantine (the great) A. D. 306 
India )4 anna—new-—'■——1901 


12 

06 

IS 

10 

12 

IO 

15 

03 

04 

50 


$1 and $2 bill Augusta, Ga. 

50c Cuban Republic, very preity 
4 va. Soudan, Camel Trooper 
3 va. U. S. Army Franks, new 
100 va. Japan, Egypt, Chili etc 
10 ancient Roman coins 
5c, ioc, 25c, 50c Ala. paper money 10 
25c and 50c Ga., fine and new 10 
5.00 and 10.00 Confederate, fine 10 
25 va. Cuba, Hawa’n, Phil.Is.R .R. 25 
Free. Rare old war bill to all ordering 
from this “ad” and sending the names 
of 2 coll. Sheets, 50 to 66%. List Free 
Samuel P. HUGHES, Omaha. Neb. 

When answering advertisements 
ptease m en tion the Youth "s Tteal/m 





are giving away 

, GAMES, 
TRICKS 

puzzles’ 
(stories, 

ICIPE MANUAL 
'c., ETC., FREE 

Not one game or one 
I,trick to each person, 
but an assortment of the above making 

500 for each person 

and including-ILLUMINATED GAMES, 

such as Dominoes, Chess, Nine Men Morris, 
Fox and Geese, etc.; Startling THICKS of 
Sleight of Hand for stage and parlor enter¬ 
tainment; chapter of Conundrums, the best 
you have, ever seen; PUZZLES, with correct 
answers; STORIES for long evenings; Recipe 
^Manual of trade secrets, telling how to make 
'such articles as colored inks, glue, baking pow. 
der, bluing, paint, tooth powder, candy, etc. etc. 
One of these recipes originally sold for $100.00. 
You have an opportunity to get rich making and 
selling the artic-es described here. Also some 
choice cooking re@ipes and hundreds of other 
useful and entertaining devices, including the 
magic age card; how to memorize dates and num¬ 
bers by a wonderful discovery invaluable to teach, 
ers and scholars; deaf and dumb alphabet; some 
good experiments: etc., etc. Just think of it, ® 

500 OF THE ABOVE FREE TO 

K/^II^Ieach person 

ft Jf V, who sends only ten cepts for a 

3 -months’ trial subscription to 
our great paper for young and old. All we ask is 
that if you like the paper show it to your friends or 
speak a good word for us by way of an advertise¬ 
ment. This offer is to introduce ourselves to 100,000 
new subscribers. If the above supply of games etc. 
become exhausted before you write to us, we will 
return your money. But we advise you to write 
at once to secure the above. Address— V 

HEALM,Sfution A 9 lioston 9 Mass* 









































THE PLACE# BUY 


ave Tfye Largest /Issor^fce^Cg 
relent of LAMPS ai?d 
^piTUgeSito 


T^KeHNETC WaTERBUKY. 18lfKAHKL1H 5xB 


THE'REALA 


.t <#. v* r* .-o# t * * 


E N D 1 O 
CENTS 


and yon will 
receive for 1 
weeks a copy 
of the 

STAMP LOVERS WEEKLY 

a weekly newspaper keeping you 
abreast with collecting, giving 
you much information concerning 
stamps and many subjects of in¬ 
terest to the Stamp Collector 

The S til til p Lovers Weekly 

_ Bethlehem,Pa. 

Z >+$&***** 


State of Alabama, ’63,'25c “Shin plaster” 3c 
I 1863, 50c, 3c; both 5c. 

Augusta, Ga. $1.00, 4c; 5.00, 6c; 10.00, 10c 
The three i$c. Virgin. Treas. Note, 5.00, 10c 

5 cent Sets 

4 var. Barbados 
4 var. British Guinea 
4 var. C. Good Hope 
4 var. Ceylon 
4 var . Hutch Indies 
4 var. Jamaica 
4 var. Mauritius 
4 var. Natal 
4 var. N. So. Wales 
4 var. Queensland 
4 var. So Australia 
Postage extra. 


10c sets 

10 var. Argentine 
10 var. Bolivia 
10 Var. Brazil 
10 var. Chili 
10 var. Guatemala 
10 var. Jamaica 
io var. N. So. Wales 
io var. New Zealand 
10 var. Peru 
10 var. Queensland 
10 var. Russia 
Price List Free. 


WESTERN STAMP COMPANY 

702 N. Y. Life Bldg. Ohiaha, Nebraska 


COPYRIGHTED. 


35 s tamps free to all who buy U packet. 

50 variety packets, each 5c, per 10 30c 
loo & " ” 8c, " 10 55c 

1066 hinges, 5c Pocket albums 5c 

Herbert N. Myers 64 W. 95 St., N. Y. C 


STAMPS 

A. BULLARD and COMPANY 


since he could never Imagine that it , 
-could come from any one but the lady’. 
And so, my dear Watson, we have fend¬ 
ed by turning the dancing In on to good 
When they have sfe often been thfe 
agents of evil, and I think that I have 
fulfilled hay promise of giving you 
something unusual for your notebook. 
Three-forty is our train, and I fancy 
we should be back in Baker street for 
dinner.’^ 

Only one word of epilogue. The 
American, Abe Slaney, was condemned 
to death at the winter assizes "'At Mof- 
wwh, but his penalty was changed id 
penal servitude in consideration of mit¬ 
igating circumstances and the certain¬ 
ty that Hilton CUbltt had fired the first 
shot. Of Mrs. Hilton Cubitt I only 
know that I have heard she recovered 
entirely and that she still remains a 
Widow, devoting her whole life to the 
care of the poor and to the administra¬ 
tion of her husband’s estate. 


Jealousy *0 “the Limit.” 

A young man was very jealous of a 
girl he adored. She was a bit more 
coquettish than other girls. “Your eyes 
can flirt in all directions,” he said one 
day, and cut them out. “You might 
wave your hands to somebody,” and he 
/cut them off. “With your feet you can 
,make signs to some one under the tac¬ 
kle,” and he cut those off. “I forgot that 
you can also speak,” he remarked three 
days later, and tore her tongue out. 
“You shall not smile,” he said, and 
knocked her teeth out. “So, I am a 
bit quieter now,” he remarked the day 
after he had cut her hair off, and for 
the first time he was going to trust 
her to herself. “Now she is ugly, but 
still I feel she is quite my own,” he 
said on leaving her. But when he re¬ 
turned the girl had disappeared. She 
“had run away with the proprietor of a 
show.—From “Fables of Eugen Heltai.” 


PACKETS etc. 75 ah <h f -> Egypt etc., 15c. tag 
all dif., 38c. *5 dif. Brit. Cols., N. Brunsw’k etc., 
90 C. 30 dif U. S. 35c. 105 foreign, some duplicates, 
Constantinople &c. ( 10c. 500 mixed for sheets, fine, 
$1.00. 500 U. S., all obsolete, 30c. 1000 foreign,35c. 
50 rare Mex.revs., $1. ^30 Civil War revs. 45c. *10 
Cuba 12c. *10 Pto.Rico, 14c. ix Austria ’91, 150k, 
10c. *4 Pto.Rico postals, xoc. 
Climax illust. album,holding 
nearly 2500 stmps, 25c. Better 
one, 35c. A good album, 18c. 
One forU.S. only, 25c. Inter, 
nat'l album $1.go; full cloth, 
2.50. Complete guide, “How 
to Collect Stamps,’’illustratd, 

ttc. Scott r s catalogue, §8c. 150 Foreign Mone} 

Tables, 8c. Prices we pay for foreign stamps, illsQ 
Be. Prices we pay for nearly 275 U.S., 5c. Prices 
We pay for U-S. revs., 5c. The 3 cats., 12c. Prices 
we pay for U.S. coins, 8c. 12 Approval books ruled 
to hold 40 stamps, 10c. To hold So, 15c doz. To hold 
160, 30C doz. ^40 Midget approval sheets to hold I 
to xostps, xoc. 25 Blank sheets to hold 25 stps, xoc. 

ts to hold 60 stps, 10c. Bx 1000 
already bent for use; something 
c. Gum paper 4c sheet. Perfo. 

. millimeter scale, 5c. ;,£• 

Pocket microscope, 17c i w A 
^ J r ,. 25 printed envelope? 
for packets of stamps, 7c; ioo, 23c. 
25 better envelopes, 9c; 100, 29c. 35 

printed envelps. for coin collectors, 
xoc. Dealer’s stock of stamps, al¬ 
bums, etc., $1.15; better, $2.65. £ 

Buy of the publishers & importers and save money. 

. • A. BULLARD & COMPANY 

£46 Tremont Street % BOSTON , MASS. 


.12 she« 
[hinges 
*new;ic 

ration gauge wit! 


STAMPS'! PACKETS 


R 


EAD this list over carefully. You will find greater bargains here 
than in any other list published. Every stamp we sell is guaran¬ 
teed to be genuine. These prices are for perfect stamps only. 




Packet ZK contains 14 rare Honduras envelope and 
wrapper stamps, unused, 1890-92, a 
fine collection, all different, cf some 
of the most beautiful stamps ever print¬ 
ed, being large and distim t specimens. 
Catalogue value, 70c. Our price only 

!5 CGIlts, which is only about one- 
fifth of what they are actually worth 
This is the greatest bargain ever of¬ 
fered by any stamp concern in America 


Packet ZL contains a collection of 24 
different used postage stamps from China and 
Japan only. Worth about 50c by catalogue, 
but we are selling them while they last for only 

13 Cents, which is less than the wholesale 
price. This is one of our special bargain packets. 

Packet SUl contains 100 all different U. S. stamps, no revenues, 
but nracticallv all issu-s, including departments. An excellent collec¬ 
tion in itself Worth over $3.00. Our price, postpaid, $1.00. 


Packet SU2 contains 500 all obsolete, mixed U. S stamps- 
This packet Contains duplicates. Price, postpaid, ,30 


Packet SU3 contains 32 
different U. S. stamps, all obsolete, 
no revenues, 1861-1902, including 
stamps from every commemorative 
issue. —• — — Worth cents. 
Postpaid only .. 10 c 


Packet ZG contains 11 different p 
Belgium Postal Packet stamps, 1895-1902. || 
These large and attractive stamps are ac- fe, 
tually worth about 50c, but we are selling P 
the packet for only 10 cents, as a leader S| 
to show you what roe can do. — —- — ^ 
- Postpaid, only....- IQC P 


Packet ZH c< ntains 10 different stamps from Porto Rico, 189Q- 
96, rare and high values. Worth about $1.75 but since they are can¬ 
celled by a small punch hole (which actually does not injure the 
specimen so much as a heavy ink cancellation ) we are closing them 
out at only, postpaid- • • - • ..20c 

Packet Z/contains IO 
different stamps from Egypt 
only, including rare envel¬ 
ope ^and dfficial stamps. 

The set is worth about 25c, 

but as this is one of our leaders we are selling the packet for 
iy 7c, this being less than ked of the regular iprice. Postage, 
cent extra unless other goods are ordered with this packet. 

>♦♦❖♦♦♦♦ *♦*****♦ 


Packet £/c° nta * ns a ver y 

fine collection of 29 all different 
Venezuelan postage stamps, 

1 879-1900, including early lith¬ 
ographic printings, perfora¬ 
tions, surcharges and stamps 
worth j 5 to r 2oc each. Value, 
aborff $1.50. Qur price, post free, 


60c 


Packet Z contains 50 different postage 
stamps from Mexico only, including about all 
issues; a grand collection in itself and very 
cheap considering the quality of the stamps 

contained in this superb packet. Post free QOC 


Packet ZJ2 contains 25 
different Australian postage 
stamps. It includes ®Tasmania 
(Jubilee), Victoria 1881 ip green 
worth 10 cts, and other fine 
stamps. Actually worth 50c. 

Post 
F ree, 


BARGAIN PRICE, 


17 Cts. 


Packet ZB contains 60 unused stamps, 
including Montenegro, Liberia, New Found- 
land, Shanghai, etc. Post Free, only . .SOC 

Packet ZE contains 250 all different 
stamps from every quarter of the globe— 
Borneo, Shanghai, Newfoundland, Malta, Ice¬ 
land, Etc. This fine ; collection only $1.25 

PACKET ZF contains TOO diff erent 

■stamps including Portuguese Ifi'dia, Barbados, 
Guatemala, LevatYb &c. Price...... $1.00 

PACKET R. A Spar 

lsh War Packet, containing 40 
U. • S. Colonials and Cuban 
stamps only. It is one of our 
most popular packets containing 
mostly unused stamps. The fol¬ 
lowing countries only are represented • The 
Plawaiian Islands, Cuba-, Porto Rico, and the 
Philippines. 40 different Stamps, worth many 
times our price* poStfree. . . ' .45c. 

PACKET S contains 

19 varieties of Heligoland 
stamps. These are reprints, but 
not counterfeits. We never - sell 
the latter under any conditions. 
Almost any reputable dealer 

on the other hand will supply genuine reprints 
selling them as such. Pbstlree, only- 1 &C 

Packet T contains loo fine 

all different, Mexican, South 
and Central American stamps 
only—a grand collection in it¬ 
self including stamps from Salva¬ 
dor (1st issue) Nicaragua, 
Honduras, Venezuela, British 
Guiana, Argentine, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa 
Rica, Columbia, Uruguay, etc. Cat. value 

over $2.50. Price only.... .,......$1.00 

THOUSAND MIXTURES 

PACKET ZM contains 1000 well- 

mixed European stomps. A good assortment 

for the price, only 25 Cents postpaid. 
Thk packet contains duplicates. 


HILL STAMP CO., BOX B, SO. END, BOSTON